Wayland Public Schools is committed to the integration and meaningful use of instructional and information technologies to support, enrich, and extend student learning throughout the curriculum.

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Wayland Public Schools is committed to the integration and meaningful use of instructional and information technologies to support, enrich, and extend student learning throughout the curriculum. As part of this commitment, a 1:1 initiative at the high school had them evaluating ways they could explore multiple learning strategies such as blended learning, flipped classrooms and online courses and content. The result was the selection of itslearning as its digital learning platform. After two years, district teachers now use itslearning for everything from sharing resources to professional development.

“Our teachers have had a very positive experience with itslearning,” says Leisha Simon, director of IT at Wayland Public Schools. “The interface is so easy to use, and that was so important to the teachers. The ease of use has made the need for support and training minimal.”

Today, the platform has become an integral part of school operations, with both middle school and high school teachers using it for everything from sharing materials to completing training modules. “They can collaborate on the development of the curriculum,” said Ms. Simon. “They can share modules, tests, learning materials and whiteboard courses.”

Not only was itslearning used to build teachers’ technical skills, but it was also used to convince the school board when the district first showed interest in buying the platform. Ms. Simon created a course in itslearning about the district’s 1:1 initiative and asked the board members to complete it. The 1:1 initiative aims to equip all 870 high school students with a computer connected to a learning platform.

“It is exciting and gratifying to see a premier district like Wayland Public Schools adopt itslearning and we look forward to working closely with them on their mission to educate, prepare, and inspire all students to achieve their full potential as lifelong learners, thinkers and productive contributors to our global society,” said Kevin Pawsey, CEO of itslearning, US.

Improving educator effectiveness is a large component of every current, major state and federal education initiative. In fact, the Education Commission of the States reports that 19 states have revamped their teacher evaluation systems in the past year–and many others are currently debating changes.

Do you have some great back-to-school ideas for spreading the word about Atomic Learning that you've used in your district? Collaborate with your peers in the Atomic Learning User Group! Here's an example shared by Brooke Mulartrick of Methacton School District in PA. What's Edmodo? Edmodo is a social networking site for teachers and students - and it’s so much more! This free resource provides teachers and students a safe environment to communicate, collaborate, and have fun. Check out the Atomic Learning Edmodo training series where you'll learn how to sign up, how to set up your account, and how to use the many features, such as posting assignments and quizzes, populating a library of content, and even awarding recognition to students. To sign up for or log into Edmodo, visit www.edmodo.com/home. To join the Atomic Learning User Group, click on the "join" link on the left sidebar, and enter mk9dtw when prompted for the code.

Tip: Everyone wants to know what works. Checkout what educators in Michigan are doing at "Best Practices in Michigan" You can find lessons aligned to content and technology standards for elementary, middle, and high school classes in PDF format and easy to follow. You can use these as models of best practices

Brought to you by Wednesday, February 24, 2010 | 1 pm PST 4 pm EST Click here to register for this FREE event K 12s everywhere are turning to wireless LANs to enable their 21st century education curriculum, however,

When teachers receive high quality professional instruction, does it directly affect their students’ learning and test scores? That’s the question many schools want to answer - before they invest scarce resources in professional development programs.

Today, Microsoft is shining a spotlight on 72 creative school leaders who have been selected as the best at integrating technology into their classrooms and curricula to inspire their students to learn.